Rufino Tamayo

(Mexican, 1899–1991)

Rufino Tamayo was a Mexican painter and printmaker known for his large-scale murals and vivid use of color. Like his peers Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and Jose Clemente Orozco, Tamayo helped bring international attention to Mexican art. Influenced by his pre-Columbian heritage as well as Cubism and Surrealism, Tamayo portrayed vernacular subjects like watermelons and animals in a unique formal vocabulary. “Art is a means of expression that must be understood by everybody, everywhere,” he stated. “It grows out of the earth, the textures of our lives, and our experience.” Born on August 26, 1899 in Oaxaca, Mexico, Tamayo left the San Carlos Academy of Fine Arts after a year and began to teach himself. He moved to New York in the 1930s after having a falling out with the politically driven Rivera and Siqueiros in his home county. Eventually returning to Mexico in 1959, he founded the Museo Tamayo Arte Contemporáneo in Mexico City and the Museo Rufino Tamayo in his birthplace of Oaxaca during the early 1980s. The artist continued to produce some of his most compelling works including Moon and Sun (1990) right up until his death on June 24, 1991 in Mexico City, Mexico at the age of 91. Today, his works are held in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, among others.

Rufino Tamayo News

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Rufino Tamayo Artworks

Artworks for Sale &
Auction Results

Rufino Tamayo (5,666 results)
The Dancer

Rufino Tamayo

The Dancer

Sale Date: May 19, 2021

Auction Closed

Naturaleza Muerta, 1950

Rufino Tamayo

Naturaleza Muerta, 1950

Sale Date: May 20, 2021

Auction Closed

Cinco para las tres (Los ángeles y el reloj), 1932

Rufino Tamayo

Cinco para las tres (Los ángeles y el reloj), 1932

Sale Date: May 14, 2021

Auction Closed

Apocalypse de Saint Jean (Capítulo III), 1960

Rufino Tamayo

Apocalypse de Saint Jean (Capítulo III), 1960

Sale Date: May 14, 2021

Auction Closed

Sin título, 1958

Rufino Tamayo

Sin título, 1958

Sale Date: May 14, 2021

Auction Closed

Sandías, 1941

Rufino Tamayo

Sandías, 1941

Sale Date: May 14, 2021

Auction Closed

Naturaleza muerta, 1985

Rufino Tamayo

Naturaleza muerta, 1985

Sale Date: May 14, 2021

Auction Closed

Salome, 1983

Rufino Tamayo

Salome, 1983

Sale Date: May 20, 2021

Auction Closed

Paisaje árido, 1973

Rufino Tamayo

Paisaje árido, 1973

Sale Date: May 19, 2021

Auction Closed

Naturaleza muerta, 1935

Rufino Tamayo

Naturaleza muerta, 1935

Sale Date: May 19, 2021

Auction Closed

Domingo en Chapultepec, 1934

Rufino Tamayo

Domingo en Chapultepec, 1934

Sale Date: May 19, 2021

Auction Closed

Deux têtes de femmes, (Dos cabezas de..., 1969

Rufino Tamayo

Deux têtes de femmes, (Dos cabezas de..., 1969

Sale Date: May 13, 2021

Auction Closed

Hombre, luna y estrellas, 1950, 1950

Rufino Tamayo

Hombre, luna y estrellas, 1950, 1950

Sale Date: May 13, 2021

Auction Closed

Femme en Mauve (Mujer en lila), de la suite..., 1969

Rufino Tamayo

Femme en Mauve (Mujer en lila), de la suite..., 1969

Sale Date: May 13, 2021

Auction Closed

Mano blanca

Rufino Tamayo

Mano blanca

Sale Date: May 13, 2021

Auction Closed

Mujer con sandía, 1950, 1950

Rufino Tamayo

Mujer con sandía, 1950, 1950

Sale Date: May 13, 2021

Auction Closed

Coyote, 1950, 1950

Rufino Tamayo

Coyote, 1950, 1950

Sale Date: May 13, 2021

Auction Closed

Apocalypse of Saint Jean, 1959, 1959

Rufino Tamayo

Apocalypse of Saint Jean, 1959, 1959

Sale Date: May 13, 2021

Auction Closed

Tres aves y el sol, de la carpeta Air Mexicain

Rufino Tamayo

Tres aves y el sol, de la carpeta Air Mexicain

Sale Date: May 13, 2021

Auction Closed

Espiral, de la carpeta Air Mexicain, 1952, 1952

Rufino Tamayo

Espiral, de la carpeta Air Mexicain, 1952, 1952

Sale Date: May 13, 2021

Auction Closed

Cabeza Morada (Purple head), 1983

Rufino Tamayo

Cabeza Morada (Purple head), 1983

Sale Date: March 29, 2021

Auction Closed

Mujer con Sandia, 1950

Rufino Tamayo

Mujer con Sandia, 1950

Sale Date: April 21, 2021

Auction Closed

Hombre en Blanco, 1976

Rufino Tamayo

Hombre en Blanco, 1976

Sale Date: April 28, 2021

Auction Closed

MUJER SONRIENTE (PEREDA 339), 1989

Rufino Tamayo

MUJER SONRIENTE (PEREDA 339), 1989

Sale Date: April 20, 2021

Auction Closed

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